The Magic Fish
by Elles Green
Summary: A regular day of ice fishing takes an unexpected turn...


A/N: I honestly don't know where I got the idea for this. I've had it for a while, but had some trouble starting it. This actually has England, Russia, and France but the site only lets me list two characters. Here it goes.

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><p>It was a clear winter day on the lakes of Karelia, perfect day for ice fishing. Out in the middle of the lake sat three men huddled on the ice.<p>

The first was Russia, the most physically adapted to the weather. He had just caught a small trout and was removing the hook so he could add it to his half full bucket of fish.

Next was France, who was not quite as used to the cold as Russia, but had visited enough times to know what to expect. He didn't mind being out on the ice too much, yet he still felt dumb for misunderstanding the invitation to come along fishing (1).

Last was England, who despite being well dressed for the cold, was not enjoying himself very much. He had been dragged along by France at the last minute, and despite being out here for three hours, he had not caught a single fish.

England was close to giving up when suddenly he felt a small tug on his fishing line.

"I finally got one!" he shouted happily as he reeled it in.

What happened next was a surprise. He had defiantly caught a fish, but it wasn't a trout or a pike like France and Russia had caught so many of. This one was no bigger than a goldfish, and it had shimmering white scales and deep black eyes.

"So much for that…"England sighed as he proceeded to remove the hook.

"Well at least you caught one." France offered.

"Yeah… but I suppose they all taste the same when they're fried up."

The three shared a laugh as England placed the fish in the bucket. But it wasn't long before…

_Please! No!_

"Hmm? Did you say something Russia?"

Russia shook his head. "I did not say anything."

"France?"

"I didn't say anything either."

"Huh, I thought I…oh never mind."

They turned back to their fishing. A few minutes went by in silence until…

_Please don't eat me!_

"There it is again!"

"There is what again?" Russia asked.

"I just heard it! A small voice saying-"

"Oh, here we go…" France sighed. This wasn't the first time England started hearing voices.

"Shut up! I know what I heard! It was a-"

_HELP!_

This time it was loud enough for all three to hear.

"What…was…?"

"You hear it too? It's what I was trying to tell you!"

Russia looked around, starting to get concerned. "Where did it come from?"

"I…I don't know…" England mumbled.

A few more quiet moments passed, until France gasped in surprise.

"France, what is it?"

"It's your fish!" France said, pointing to the bucket.

"My fish?"

"Look!"

They all peered into the bucket to see the little white fish staring up at them intently. Suddenly the fish spoke.

"Please let me go!" the little fish begged.

The fish. The fish was talking. This was by far the strangest thing they had seen all day.

France was the first one to speak. "Let you go?"

"Yes! Put me back in the water! I promise to make it worth your while."

"Worth my while? What does that mean?"

"I am prepared to grant each of you a wish! Because I am a magic fish!"

_A magic fish, how strange…_Russia thought. While he had seen many strange things from the bottom of a vodka bottle, this definitely was near the top of the list. But wait, he hadn't had any vodka yet today…

"Wait a minute!" England interrupted. "Isn't the standard amount usually three wishes?"

"That is three wishes, one for each of us."

"Oh right…well, since I caught the fish I'd like to make a wish first!

France and Russia shrugged. No objections here.

"Alright, I wish…"He stopped a moment to think"…that instead of being out on this frozen lake, I was back at my house. With a hot cup of tea near a roaring fire."

"Coming right up!" the little fish beamed as it started swimming vigorously in a circle (because that's apparently how the magic worked).

"Come on England! You do that every day!" France scoffed "Don't you want something that's a bit more out of the ordinary and-…England?"

And England was gone.

France and Russia glanced at each other, then to the fish, then to the spot where England had been sitting.

"Where is he?"

"Back at his house! Since that's what he wished for." Said the fish.

Amazing, had it really worked?

France decided he would go next.

"Let's see, I wish…that I was in my garden. With my beautiful roses…how I miss them."

"Ok!" said the fish as it started swimming in a circle again.

And France was gone.

Russia found himself all alone with the magic fish. He wondered what he was going to wish for. At first, he considered wishing that it was summer, but then thought that it wouldn't be the best idea, since he was technically standing in the middle of a lake.

Around that time the sun was starting to set. He watched as it went lower and lower, as it turned the sky into wonderful shades of pink and orange.

"Wow, look at that sunset!"

"It's pretty!" agreed the fish.

"Yeah…I wish England and France were here to see this!"

THE END

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><p>(1): The French words for "to fish" and "to sin" sound very similar, especially to one whose first language isn't French. "Fisherman" and "sinner" are even more similar than the corresponding verbs. That must have been an awkward conversation.<p> 


End file.
